Ordeal by Fire: Witnesses to the Great War

by Lyn Macdonald (editor), Shirley Seaton (Researcher), Richard van Emden (Introduction )

Adapted from 1914-1918: Voices and Images of the Great War, first published by Michael Joseph in 1988.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, World War I

312 pages, Hardcover Slipcased

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Over the course of her career Lyn Macdonald established a popular reputation as an author and historian of the First World War. Her books are They Called It Passchendaele, an account of the Passchendaele campaign in 1917; The Roses of No Man's Land,, a chronicle of the war from the neglected viewpoint of the casualties and the medical teams who struggled to save them; ,Somme, a history of the legendary and horrifying battle that has haunted the minds of succeeding generations; 1914, a vivid account of the first months of the war and winner of the 1987 Yorkshire Post Book of the Year Award; 1914-1918: Voices and Images of the Great War, an illuminating account of the many different aspects of the war; and 1915: The Death of Innocence, a brilliant evocation of the year that saw the terrible losses of Aubers Ridge, Loos, Neuve Chapelle, Ypres and Gallipoli.

Her superb chronicles of popular history were notable for their extensive use of eyewitness and survivor accounts, and she drew on oceans of contemporary letters and diaries as well as capturing the memories of a dwindling supply of veterans. In doing so, she cast a unique light on the experiences of the ordinary ‘Tommy’ in the wider context of the First World War, documenting the innocence of a lost generation and bringing to life the disillusionment, the questioning and the heroism of the men of the British Army. “My intention,” she said, “has been to tune in to the heartbeat of the experience of the people who lived through it.”

Reviews

[Relstuart · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a collection of letters from service members, mostly from the trenches that covers the great part of the war (mostly in Europe). If has some German entries (translated into English) and some Americans towards the end but the vast majority are British service members. I usually don't enjoy these sorts of collections because there is no real flow, just fragments of people's lives. This collection is chronological and moves from major event to event in the war giving you a view from the common soldier on what was happening.

A couple letters had parts that stood out. One was written by a Sergeant Cooper getting the Victoria Cross (VC). The highest British decoration for service above and beyond the call of duty. He relates that he was meeting the King for the ceremony and there were several others there for the same decoration. Lots of generals and high society observing. To quote: "Well the man next to me was a chap called Edwards. He'd gained his VC about a 1,000 yards away from in the same attack. I didn't know him, of course, but he'd come straight from France and his instructions were that he'd meet his wife at Victoria station at such and a such time. Anyhow, they missed each other. He'd come straight to the Palace-He was in a terrible state-of course! Hadn't seen his wife. His name was called out. He gets up to march over to the King, and just turned his head to the left, and there, at the railings, was his wife with her nose through! Well, of course, he broke ranks, dashed over and kissed her. Then he realized where he was, came dashing back, continued his march up to the King.
Up in the balcony was the Queen and all the royal family. I just happened to look round to see what my parents were doing and I saw Queen Mary-she nearly fell off the balcony! Nothing like that had ever happened before!
Anyhow, when he got up to the King, he told me afterwards, the King said, 'What's happened there Edwards?' 'Well sir, that was my wife. I missed her at Victoria and I haven't seen her for a long time,' and the King said, 'I quite understand. I'd of done the same thing myself.' And he carried on with the Investiture."

Another soldier wrote back that as the officer he had to censor all the mail coming out of his unit. He shared one letter's contents with his wife that went like this: Dear Jeanette, Please take a good long look at the floor because when I get home on leave in a couple weeks you'll only be seeing the ceiling. Your loving husband, Jack" Sexting WW1 style I guess. :)

Another solider talked about how the men around him no longer talked about their comrades dying in soft terms like "Going West". The term that became popular was saying that they were "Jesus Jerked" due to the violence and frequency of death around them.

The physical book from the Folio Society is beautiful. The pages are a dark greyish color which it unusual but fits the frequently somber subject matter.

[Rogerio · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is made of correspondence during The Great War (World War I), mostly from soldiers and other military recounting their experience (majority) at the Western front (France). Some letters are boring but some are really great and have a eye-witness account and detail life in the trenches, camp, conscription, etc. It is also noticeable that it is a British perspective, in that 99% of the content - exception made to a few German/USA letters - is from either the United Kingdom soldiers or Commonwealth (i.e. Australia & New Zealand, and even 1 or 2 from South Africa). Nothing from India. It is great that the letters are organized in line with the war chronology as well.

[Michael Peterson]

This book is a collection of soldier's accounts of WWI; most are British soldiers, with a few Germans and Americans included as well. The the accounts are a combination of recollections during interviews, letters written during the war, and a few other primary sources such as quotes from newspaper articles. The editor's goal is to present the common soldier's experience of the Great War, as told in their own words. The content is presented in a chronological order with only sparse editorial comments to set historical context at the start of a few chapters. Thus, a decent understanding of WWI will help the reader immensely as they read this book.

The stories told by the solders are poignant, occasionally funny, and often heart-rendingly tragic. We can read the statistics of the horrific casualties suffered on all sides of this war, but to read soldier's accounts as they recall the horrible conditions they faced, the deprivations they endured, and the unbelievable loss and heartbreak they encountered on a daily basis is to understand that war is millions of individual tragedies piled upon one another. By bringing the Great War down to an individual level, Ordeal by Fire connects the modern reader to history in a way that traditional historical texts generally fail to do. I strongly recommend this text to anybody interested in the Great War.

My rating: 4.5/5

[Ian Banks · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really thorough documentary history of World War 1. It covers a lot of the main events and a few lesser-know ones but, by being made up of recollections from both sides, gives a more even coverage of what happened. It’s a great mix of perspectives as well, featuring commentary from officers, gentlemen, NCOs and Tommys, as well as assorted nurses, civilians and diverse other players in that theatre.